Hanson-Cox had been considered a devoted champion of El Cajon; her departure comes as a surprise

Data on Century Design Inc., where Jillian Hanson-Cox and her husband, Robert Cox, worked.

Year Sales (millions) Employees

1999 $4.60 16

2000 $5.00 16

2001 $5.00 16

2002 $5.00 16

2004 $4.00 12

2005 $4.00 12

2007 $3.00 10

2008 $4.00 12

2009 $3.00 10

2010 $3.00 10

2011 $3.00 10

Information Access Company, a Thomson company

El Cajon Councilwoman Jillian Hanson-Cox resigned Wednesday, just days after the FBI raided the home of the longtime community activist and prominent hometown figure.

Catching residents and City Hall officials by surprise, the two-term councilwoman submitted a one-page letter saying she was stepping down immediately.

“Recent events have given rise to a burden and demands on my time that would possibly detract from the time necessary to continue my commitment to the city and my constituents,” she wrote.

The FBI last week obtained a warrant and searched the Catalpa Way house where Hanson-Cox and her husband, Robert Cox, live. The agency has not said exactly who it was investigating or what it was looking for, and the warrant is sealed.

Hanson-Cox, 52, has been unavailable for comment in recent days. No one answered her door on Wednesday.

She has been widely seen as a devoted and effective champion for East County’s largest city, where she grew up. Her father, Jack Hanson, served on the El Cajon City Council from 1978 to 1992.

“It’s a surprise because she’s a very valued person,” said Mayor Mark Lewis. “She’s really going to be missed.”

Councilman Bill Wells agreed. “She was the kind of person who was very popular,” he said. “She was very involved with trying to bring more business to the community … That’s where she would really shine.”

Hanson-Cox would have been up for re-election in November. She joined the council in 2004.

She has helped spearhead many community initiatives, including serving as president of the Mother Goose Parade Association and as a board member of Stoney’s Kids, a nonprofit that helps East County youth. In 2010, she was honored as Woman of the Year for the 77th Assembly District by then-Assemblyman Joel Anderson.

More recently, she has led planning efforts for El Cajon’s centennial celebration this year.

Business leader Ramzi Murad said the councilwoman recently worked with him and other merchants, along with the police, to successfully reduce cases of public drunkenness on North Second Street, a major thoroughfare.

“I’m devastated,” Murad said of the resignation. “Honest to God, she’s very honest, very dignified.”

In her brief letter, Hanson-Cox wrote that she always discharged her duties “with a sense of pride and commitment to the city and my constituents.”

FBI agents also served a search warrant at Century Design, the Kearny Mesa machine manufacturer where Hanson-Cox worked for years as the company controller. She touted her work experience during her election campaigns.

Company representatives said last week that Hanson-Cox no longer worked for them and confirmed that FBI agents did search the building. They said the company was not a target of the investigation.

Her husband also worked for Century Design.

On her most recent financial disclosure forms, for 2010, Hanson-Cox lists two salaries from Century — one from her position as vice president of operations and controller, and another for a position listed as “factory manager.” Each salary was over $100,000.

The forms are generally required to include household incomes, such as that of a spouse, but Hanson-Cox did not specify whether her husband was the factory manager.

Robert Cox listed “production manager” and “manager” as his job titles at Century on campaign finance forms from 2005 to 2007, when he gave to such causes as former Rep. Duncan Hunter’s unsuccessful presidential campaign.

Century representatives declined to comment Wednesday when asked if Robert Cox was still employed by the company.

The company builds and sells machines used in producing composites, the lightweight and fibrous material used to make anything from tennis rackets to jumbo jets.